I wonder why the kmods_latest isn't simply in the pkg.conf by default. A per release specific repo would not be difficult (and is already mostly there, i.e kmods_latest_2 for 14.2, kmods_latest_3 for 14.3).
Because it's very new. Bapt@ asked for testing (CFT = "Call For Testing"). This is one of the things I like about Freebsd. System-wide changes like this are thoughtfully considered instead of just being jammed down users' throats half-baked like they would be on Linux. BTW, I use quarterly packages, so it would be kmods_quarterly for me.
Out of curiosity, why are you trying Freebsd at all if Arch suits your needs and meets your expectations?
In some ways I question why it is new. Possibly this should have been in place before the out-of-tree kernel modules replaced the older, inbuilt ones. Especially when this issue of mismatching kernel/module was forseen well in advance.
Well something had to be done to reconcile the Linux Wild West style of development with Freebsd's measured pace. I for one am fine with having to work at getting a usable desktop when the foundation of that desktop is rock solid.
.conf files with multiple enabled repositories and bootstrap pkg(8):# egrep -h '^[^#].*' /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/FreeBSD.conf /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/kmods.conf
FreeBSD: {
url: pkg+https://pkg.freebsd.org/${ABI}/latest,
}
FreeBSD-kmods: {
enabled: yes,
priority: 0,
url: pkg+https://pkg.freebsd.org/${ABI}/kmods_latest_${VERSION_MINOR},
signature_type: "fingerprints",
fingerprints: "/usr/share/keys/pkg",
mirror_type: "srv",
}
# pkg info pkg
The package management tool is not yet installed on your system.
Do you want to fetch and install it now? [y/N]: y
Bootstrapping pkg from pkg+https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/kmods_latest_${VERSION_MINOR}, please wait...
pkg: Attempted to fetch https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/kmods_latest_${VERSION_MINOR}/Latest/pkg.pkg
pkg: Attempted to fetch https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/kmods_latest_${VERSION_MINOR}/Latest/pkg.txz
pkg: Error: Not Found
A pre-built version of pkg could not be found for your system.
Consider changing PACKAGESITE or installing it from ports: 'ports-mgmt/pkg'.
# #after disabling the kmods:
# egrep -h '^[^#].*' /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/FreeBSD.conf /usr/local/etc/pkg/repos/kmods.conf
FreeBSD: {
url: pkg+https://pkg.freebsd.org/${ABI}/latest,
}
FreeBSD-kmods: {
enabled: no,
priority: 0,
url: pkg+https://pkg.freebsd.org/${ABI}/kmods_latest_${VERSION_MINOR},
signature_type: "fingerprints",
fingerprints: "/usr/share/keys/pkg",
mirror_type: "srv",
}
# pkg info pkg
The package management tool is not yet installed on your system.
Do you want to fetch and install it now? [y/N]: y
Bootstrapping pkg from pkg+https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/latest, please wait...
Installing pkg-2.0.6...
Extracting pkg-2.0.6: 100%
pkg-2.0.6
Name : pkg
Version : 2.0.6
Installed on : Wed Feb 19 17:26:15 2025 CET
<snap>
#quarterly.
well, systemd is a big one! freebsd has zfs, is a whole os, feels less bloated and I want to learn more about how this os and c work. Will try again with 14.3 then.
Don't trust the installer to pull in firmwares. I made that mistake with 14.2-RELEASE. You're better off saying no when the installer offers to do that. Well, in my case, it was on Raphael graphics, which were not properly ironed out at the time.
A good strategy is to install the very minimum required to have a booting system, and then grow it into something usable, step by step. If you want wifi drivers (even at G-speeds), make sure they work. GPU drivers - yeah, that comes early on, too. It does require a bit of knowledge how to work in the command-line. Selecting a driver, properly loading the driver and making sure it works is kind of essential to do BEFORE installing all kinds of stuff that really depends on having that driver work.
Agreed. It was actually quite hard to find out what random firmware cruft it mashed onto my system. It didn't seem to provide it as a proper package either. Felt quite sloppy.
One of the benefits of a monolithic system is that these parts of implementation could have communicated and had the necessary work in place ready for a clean release. Yes, this is quite a lot to ask and probably unreasonable to ask for free but it is worth stating that this could have been a nicer solution.
Artix is Arch without systemd, no?
Openzfs is not an option for you?
A great place to start would be troubleshooting compilation errors in a port. Say for example, just to pick one at random, graphics/drm-61-kmod. That port builds a kernel module so you learn about both the OS and C in one go.
